


Virtual Stranger

by Amerna



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, I'm sorry not sorry, author uses too much custom formatting, darcystevemonth, in love with my alter ego, internet shenanigans, love before first sight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-18
Updated: 2015-10-18
Packaged: 2018-04-26 21:52:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5021827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amerna/pseuds/Amerna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How to tell your internet friend about your superhero identity wasn’t really covered by SHIELD’s ‘Welcome to the 21<sup>st</sup> century’ briefing, so when Steve meets a charming girl on the internet he is in way too deep before he realises that it’s too late.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Virtual Stranger

**Author's Note:**

> *checks clock* Okay, I still made it. This was the story I originally wanted to post last week, I hope this is fluffy enough ;-)
> 
> Again: It's unbeta'd. If you find mistakes, let me know!

### Virtual Stranger

 

 

**shield-agent-carter asked artiststevenrogers**

YOU DREW FANART BASED ON MY AGENT CARTER META? I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER! *hyperventilates*

Well, I couldn’t resist. And your meta was spot on, I felt, so… yes, I drew Peggy walking over the dead corpses of her misogynistic SSR colleagues.

 

 

 

**shield-agent-carter asked artiststevenrogers**

peggy, huh? can you draw peggy punching howard stark? because while i feel that while they were friends judging on the old news reels and the two of them founding shield together i think peggy had to go for some physical attitude adjustment quite frequently

Your wish is my command (and I’m inclined to agree, I think Peggy gave Howard Stark a shiner at least once a month).

 

 

 

**shield-agent-carter asked artiststevenrogers**

OMG, you are perfect! and the drawing is perfect. i’m gonna print it and hang it up someplace.

No problem. Anything else you want me to draw? I’m always up to taking requests.

 

 

 

**shield-agent-carter asked artiststevenrogers**

can you draw mjölnir (thor’s hammer) with a cape riding a unicorn?

I can, yes. But that is such a random request. Any particular reason for this?

 

 

 

**shield-agent-carter asked artiststevenrogers**

i know somebody (a friend) who would totally get a kick out of it

Okay, here you go. Let me know how your friend reacts.

 

 

 

**shield-agent-carter asked artiststevenrogers**

i’ll show him the next time i meet him! he’s travelling atm. also, i noticed this when i was printing it: are you a roleplayer too? you even sign your art with SR

That’s not roleplaying. Those are my real life initials.

 

 

 

**shield-agent-carter asked artiststevenrogers**

wow. who would’ve guessed. any other similarities to the good captain? except the initials and the artistic talent?

Oh, you have no idea.

~*~

 

From: thedissilent@gmail.com

To: kilroywashere1918@gmail.com

Subject: awkward hi

so you gave me your email address because at some point (at some very early point) you kind of hit a brick wall with tumblr’s messaging system (seriously, that thing sucks, i really don’t want to know how many of my messages got eaten).

Darcy (<\-- that’s my real name)

 

 

From: kilroywashere1918@gmail.com

To: thedissilent@gmail.com

Subject: Re: awkward hi

Hey Darcy,

I knew that your real name was Darcy because you state it in your blog description. My real name is Steve (I don’t say that in my blog description, for obvious reasons). How did you become an Agent Carter fan?

 

 

From: thedissilent@gmail.com

To: kilroywashere1918@gmail.com

Subject: Re: awkward hi

okay, don’t be threatened in your masculinity or something but i thought you were a girl. because the majority of the people that dabble in fandom stuff on tumblr are girls, i feel. nice to meet you, steve (another thing you and the captain have in common!)

i was a political science major, but i dabbled in history, too, at some time and peggy carter is basically my favourite person. i think you suspected that already, based on my meta (i write a lot of meta about peggy – btw, do you follow historicalagentcarter already? awesome resource!), but she was great! founding shield in the 40s, with the mind frame at that time that women belonged in the kitchen etc. and the men would do all the work now that they’d returned from the war? being besties with howard stark? saving the world numerous times? all that while grieving the loss of the love of her life? peggy must’ve had balls of steel. and she did so much, too. seriously, i could write 10,000 words more on how awesome Peggy Carter was. (but i did that already in college so i’m not gonna repeat myself.) how did you end up being an agent carter fanboy? i guess judging on your url you were in the Cap fandom first?

 

 

From: kilroywashere1918@gmail.com

To: thedissilent@gmail.com

Subject: Re: awkward hi

Hi Darcy,

I’m not offended. And I have to admit that I was relieved that you mentioned finishing college, because when I first joined Tumblr people warned me that it was made of teenagers with a very weird understanding of social justice, but I haven’t encountered anything of the kind (yet?). So I’m glad that I’m not chatting up a 15-year old. That would be creepy and if you are a 15-year old, please tell me and I will stop this immediately. Also, to avoid stranger danger or something by assuming that I’m some kind of creepy old dude: I’m 29.

And I had the URL artiststevenrogers first and then I kind of started exploring from there. I love history (and I am now following historicalagentcarter – thanks for the recommendation!) and I love the discussions and the fanart and everything, but I’m not that active yet. Maybe, at some point, I’ll add my vast 1940s history knowledge to the pool as well. Also, a friend of mine gave me all the issues of the Captain America comics that are available but I have yet to read them.

Cheers from DC,

Steve

 

 

From: thedissilent@gmail.com

To: kilroywashere1918@gmail.com

Subject: Re: awkward hi

okay, first things first: YOU LIVE IN DC??? have you been to the exhibition yet? if yes, tell me, tell me, tell me! is it as great as everybody says it is? i’d love to go sometime but as you might’ve guessed from the timestamps of my messages: i don’t live in the states these days. i live in London (i am American, though, but i’m here on an internship – so i haven’t finished college yet, i’m 26 btw)

also, you are kind of adorable. is this your first time writing with somebody on the internet? the creepy old dude stereotype is not really something people use anymore. also, i’m kind of disappointed that you are 29 only because here i was thinking that the 1918 in your email address was a dead giveaway and you were 95 and i’ve been chatting with the world’s oldest tumblr user ;-) but i guess the 1918 is an allusion to the captain’s date of birth, right?

 

 

From: kilroywashere1918@gmail.com

To: thedissilent@gmail.com

Subject: Re: awkward hi

I have been to the exhibition several times. It’s great. You would totally get a kick out of the Peggy Carter testimonials (and everything else). I love the way they have displayed Cap and the Howling Commandos. There’s this great mural, directly at the beginning, it’s a piece of art. Also because Captain America would’ve been nothing but a figurehead without his team. I think the parts about Morita and Falsworth and Dum Dum and Gabe and Dernier are actually my favorite. They all get the recognition they deserve. I can’t say enough good things about it. If you have the chance to visit it sometime, you have to go there. But then, I think rumor has it that Google is working on a virtual tour of the exhibition, too. It’s not the same, but then you might be able to see it that way.

 

 

From: thedissilent@gmail.com

To: kilroywashere1918@gmail.com

Subject: Re: awkward hi

Ugh, i’m so jealous! (and where did you hear that rumor? i’ve never heard that until now. great idea though)

also: you forgot to mention bucky barnes ;-)

 

 

From: kilroywashere1918@gmail.com

To: thedissilent@gmail.com

Subject: Re: awkward hi

No, I didn’t forget him. His part of the exhibition is just too damn depressing.

~*~

thedissilent: hey, look at you. we are online at the same time!

kilroywashere1918: Why are you still awake? It’s 2 in the morning in London?

thedissilent: my boss is on a science bender and i have to look after her. that’s the only thing i’m doing right now, so i’m distracting myself by chatting with you

kilroywashere1918: Political scientists go on science benders?

thedissilent: no, they don’t

kilroywashere1918: What’s that supposed to mean?

thedissilent: that i’m not interning with a political scientist ;-) please don’t ask me who i’m interning with. she’s kind of a science superstar and i’d like to keep my secret science identity secret ;-)

kilroywashere1918: Okay.

thedissilent: are you just gonna accept that?

kilroywashere1918: Yes, why wouldn’t I?

thedissilent: bc most people are a nosy bunch. So thanks for respecting my privacy.

kilroywashere1918: You are welcome :o)

thedissilent: so what are u doing online on a friday night? shouldn’t you be on a hot date or something?

kilroywashere1918: I’m finishing up paperwork.

thedissilent: hot date afterwards?

kilroywashere1918: bed afterwards. I’m kind of toast after the week I’ve had.

thedissilent: what do you do?

kilroywashere1918: I work for the government.

thedissilent: you are one of those dc bureaucrats every political science student gets warned about?

kilroywashere1918: No, I’m not.

thedissilent: are you gonna elaborate on that?

kilroywashere1918: No, I’m not.

thedissilent: why?

kilroywashere1918: Because I have to keep my secret government identity a secret.

thedissilent: Touché.

thedissilent: hot date tmw?

kilroywashere1918: Is this an elaborate conspiracy where you are really my colleague who’s trying to set me up?

thedissilent: hahahahaha, what? you think your colleague would set up an elaborate secret identity and do stuff like generating two years worth of tumblr posts and getting up in the middle of the night to write messages with the correct time stamp just to get you go out on a date?

kilroywashere1918: You have no idea what she’d be willing to do.

thedissilent: i hate to break it to you, steve, but i think you are not that kind of a catch. nobody is that kind of a catch.

thedissilent: (well, maybe prince harry, because you’d become a real-life princess. Princess Darcy does have a nice ring to it, right?)

kilroywashere1918: I don’t think that either but she’s kind of getting desperate.

thedissilent: yeah, right.

kilroywashere1918: You don’t believe me.

thedissilent: no, i don’t. but if you like you can tell her that you met this girl on the internet ;-)

kilroywashere1918: I’d never do that. Because then she’d want to vet you and her vetting process is probably worse than the CIA entrance exam.

thedissilent: what kind of people do you work with, steve? ô.O

kilroywashere1918: Scary ones.

thedissilent: okay, I’d love to get into that, but science beckons! see you around steve

~*~

 

From: kilroywashere1918@gmail.com

To: thedissilent@gmail.com

Subject: LONDON

Darcy, I just saw the stuff on the news. Are you okay?

 

 

From: thedissilent@gmail.com

To: kilroywashere1918@gmail.com

Subject: Re: LONDON

im fine! im fine! still shaken up but fine!

 

 

From: kilroywashere1918@gmail.com

To: thedissilent@gmail.com

Subject: Re: LONDON

You weren’t affected, were you? Still got all your limbs and everything?

 

 

From: thedissilent@gmail.com

To: kilroywashere1918@gmail.com

Subject: Re: LONDON

I’m good. Still got all my six limbs and all my seven fingers on each of my three hands, yes ;-)

But freaky as hell, dude, the dark elves? Man, that was some serious shit. I mean, Thor was involved and we haven’t seen him on midgard since the battle of new york.

~*~

 

From: thedissilent@gmail.com

To: kilroywashere1918@gmail.com

Subject: Hey

so, after london i’ve relocated back to the states. do you want to be one of the first persons to have my new american number? i’m just assuming you do. here you go: 718 555 3062

 

 

From: kilroywashere1918@gmail.com

To: thedissilent@gmail.com

Subject: Re: Hey

I’d love to! And is that a New York Area code?

 

 

From: thedissilent@gmail.com

To: kilroywashere1918@gmail.com

Subject: Re: Hey

it is. i live and work in NYC now. (basically, my boss, the scientist i interned for, got this great job offer and she finally has money to pay me, too, so i graduated from being an intern to a lab assistant! (with the same scientist and some additional ones). I’m finishing up my degree online.)

 

~*~

Hey Darcy. This is Steve. I tried composing the perfect opening text but then I realized that I’ve talked to you for ages already. Congratulations on the job!

You are adorable. seriously, you could’ve written whatever you wanted. Everything would’ve been fine.

Except dick pics

Why would I send dick pics?

Steve, you innocent little snowflake, go to straightwhiteboystexting.tumblr.com

WHY DID YOU SEND ME THAT? THERE ARE THINGS I CAN NEVER UNSEE

wow, i finally warranted capital letters, mr perfect spelling. Welcome to my world

This has happened to you?

Yeah, obviously

Geez. I don’t know how to answer that.

R you sure you’ve never done anything of that kind?

I’ve never done anything of that kind.

Steve, you adorable little cupcake. Let that be a warning sign for you

Okay, I know that this sounds really shady (especially after straight white boys texting) but my government job sometimes keeps me out of the country and then I might not answer for a while.

Ok, all good. I know from painful experience that international usage costs an arm and a leg. Write whenever you have the time

~*~

“You know,” Natasha said while they were suiting up for a mission in Belize, “it is such a shame that you are stationed in DC now. I was at the tower the other day and there’s this girl that would be perfect for you. Works with Stark, Banner and Foster in the labs and is sharp as a tack.”

Steve sighed. “Are you still trying to set me up?”

“Yup. I mean, you need a private life, Rogers.”

“Who says I don’t have one?”

“ _Please_ , you spend your free time sketching, wandering around the city and visiting your own exhibition incognito. You need to make friends.”

“I’ve been told finding people online is a thing now.” Steve grinned.

Natasha stared at him for a moment. “Please don’t tell me Stark installed tinder on your phone. I am already a cold-hearted cynic, but if Captain America is just around the corner and actually available for a quick hook-up, I might lose the rest of my faith in mankind.”

“Stark did not install tinder on my phone.” Natasha looked actually relieved at that, so Steve waited a moment to add: “I’m perfectly able to navigate new technology all by myself, you know.”

“Did you install tinder all by yourself?” Natasha jabbed her finger at him. “Steve, do I have to personally hack their servers and scorch all their data related to you?”

“That’s private information you are threatening to expose,” Steve pointed out, not actually answering her question.

“Tell me, Steve,” Natasha demanded.

“Tell you what?”

“Steve,” Natasha said in a tone that would make lesser men pee their pants in fear. “I am dead serious. Don’t make me force you. You know what I’m capable of.”

“And you would use your wide array of skills for that?”

“Yes, I would. Because America deserves better.”

Steve cringed. “That sounded so wrong, coming from you.”

Natasha shook her head almost imperceptibly. “I can’t believe this is happening. That I’m having this conversation with you of all people. Tony on tinder? Totally possible. Clint? _Obviously_. But Captain America? Are you on tinder or not?”

With that direct question Steve couldn’t tease Natasha any longer without lying, so he told her the truth: “Don’t worry, I’m _not_ on tinder.”

Natasha narrowed her eyes at him like she didn’t entirely believe him, so he held up his arms in defense. “I promise. I can hand over my phone if you want to check.”

Natasha glared at him for a moment longer and then punched him in the arm, hard. “You are a smart ass.”

“Stop matchmaking, this is what will happen if you do.”

“Now I’m definitely not letting it go, you totally made your bed, Captain.”

Steve sighed deeply.

“Also, back to my original point: she is perfect for you! Seriously, she is besties with Thor. If anything you can fawn over his strong biceps together. Just go to the labs and say ‘hi’ the next time you go to New York. Aren’t you due for a uniform upgrade from Stark anyway?”

~*~

“Captain America was here while you were out visiting your parents,” was the first thing Jane announced upon Darcy’s return. “I met him, he’s very nice. Very considerate. Didn’t mind the fannish screams from almost everyone around here.”

“Curses, foiled again!” Darcy said, grinning. “He’s the one Avenger I haven’t met yet. I mean, I even met the Black Widow a few weeks ago and it was less scary than I thought.”

“He’s also the only one you have life long obsession with,” Jane pointed out.

“Not life long,” Darcy protested. “And not with him. Well, not him alone. With his bad ass 1940s girlfriend mostly.”

“Well, he was only here for a uniform upgrade and Tony said that Steve is going to be at the DC SHIELD HQ for a while, so you might not see him that much.”

“I’m actually okay with that.”

“Yeah?” Jane frowned at her. “Sure?”

“Yup, I’m not ready to embarrass myself in front of him with my fannish shenanigans just yet.”

~*~

I took a picture of the sunrise in DC today.

<image.jpg>

dude, why are you out that early? I googled and sunrise in DC during the summer is around 5:40

I’m out that early every morning.

but WHY? Do you not like your bed?

Like, my bed and i, we love each other, but my alarm clock simply doesn’t want to understand

to go for a run.

Please don’t tell me that you are actually a fitness nut

Um, I’m sorry?

Geez. I thought DC government employees are non-descript and balding and overweight

Sorry to be a disappointment once again :-P

First I’m not a girl. A woman. And now I’m not balding and overweight.

Well, that’s what you claim

But at least you are doing stuff to stay in shape. There’s nothing more annoying than these people who can eat EVERYTHING and stay ripped and not gain a pound. So unfair!

~*~

“Why are you on your phone and smiling?” Jane had sneaked up on her. “Is it a boy?”

“No, I’m on Tumblr,” Darcy replied quickly, which was technically true, she’d been using the app, until she had a received message from Steve.

A text from Steve always managed to brighten her day. Just now he was geeking out over some weird random art supply he had finally found in a very obscure shop in DC and couldn’t wait to try out once he made it home. She was glad that he was such a normal person in between all the craziness that living with the Avengers and working with them on a daily basis meant.

“Are you sure it’s not a boy?” Jane persisted. “You are smiling way too widely.”

“Where would I’ve met him?” Darcy deflected. “Between working for you, and Tony and Bruce, too, and finishing up my degree online I barely have the time to date.”

Steve was really sweet, too. He’d just send her random messages. Pictures he would take throughout the day, the drawing he was working on. Fanart when he felt like it. It was mostly Peggy Carter and the Howling Commandos (with the notable exception of Bucky Barnes, Darcy secretly asked herself if Steve had something against him), but occasionally the Avengers found their way into his artwork as well.

There were times when he wouldn’t answer at all for days at a time, which meant that he was out of the country for work. Darcy secretly asked herself what Steve did, but she had quickly realised that his job was kind of a touchy subject so she kept her curiosity in check. But she missed their conversation at these times and was really glad to hear from him once he was back stateside. It was weird how dependant she had become on his company already.

When they talked about the Captain, which was seldom these days, he seemed weirdly specific about what the Captain would do and think and know. If he weren’t so sweet about it, it would feel very presumptuous. He also had really nerdy history knowledge and kept teasing her that she could basically ask him anything about World War II and he would probably know it.

“Isn’t internet dating a thing for you? I’m not judging if it’s a tinder hook-up.”

“That’s easy for you to say because you date a literal god who worships the ground you walk on.”

Maybe it should freak her out how little she knew about Steve as a person. She knew his first name and his age, but he had never divulged his last name – neither had she. They had never exchanged pictures and Darcy kind of liked it that way. It kept some mystery alive somehow. She had very little personal information on him and didn’t know much about his living conditions, but she didn’t care about it, really. Maybe he had a wife and seven children, maybe he was gay, maybe he was just another lonely soul, just like her. He’d once claimed that he’d a colleague who liked to set him up, but then it had also sounded like he exaggerated that for effect.

And she didn’t think about him that way anyway.

“And I’m saying that you deserve the same. We have to find you a guy.” Jane nodded decisively. “I should probably get Natasha involved.”

~*~

i think i saw Taylor Swift today. well, her and the entourage of security that she has to take along whenever she goes outside. and the throng of paparazzi following her everywhere, too

i kind of feel sorry for her…

are there any hot celebs in DC?

Well, there is the President. But I think Tay Tay’s entourage is bigger.

Haha, very funny

Wait, isn’t Captain America stationed in DC these days?

I think SHIELD keeps his exact location a secret, though. But sometimes people will post pictures of him out and about, at the coffee shop, on his motorcycle, on his morning run. I saw a vine of him running along the National Mall once, he is one fast runner, I tell you – if that was really him, because all I could see was a blur.

Yes, Captain America lives in DC.

And? are you trying to find out his residence already? I mean, you are a cap fan and an agent carter fanboy. don’t you want to meet the man who inspired her life’s work? I mean, SHIELD is called SHIELD for a reason. Strategic homeland and all that… but somebody really wanted the initials to spell SHIELD

I think fan encounters are really more awkward for the Captain. People would be polite but he would be weirded out. I’d keep my distance.

And you are as much of an Agent Cater fan that I am. Don’t you want to meet him?

I’m thinking the same. About the awkwardness and the weirdness. I mean, he’s a certain celebrity now? Do you get used to people approaching you? What do they say?

“thank you for saving us from certain doom. again.”

“Sorry we messed it up rather spectacularly while you were gone so you had to interfere and save us. Again.”

“Do you know how a toaster works?”

“Are you disappointed with the decline in morals in the American society in the past 70 years?”

“Hey, can you take a selfie?”

I don’t envy him

And i’m actually not that far away from the Captain, like six degrees of separation, like a friend of a friend who works with Stark in R&D and has actually seen him, met him, too, i think. But i’d never finagle an introduction.

~*~

Her last disclosure made Steve stare at his phone in surprise. That was a case of “it’s a small world”, he assumed. But then… Tony had a lot of scientists in his employ these days and he had met quite a few of them on his visits to the tower. He’d met with Tony a few times when he’d designed his new uniform and people had been staring and trying to receive an introduction. He wondered which scientist he’d met would know Darcy.

He always felt awkward talking about the Captain in the third person. Thankfully he didn’t come up in their conversation that much. They had long given up talking about the Captain and Peggy exclusively and by now had a very open conversation about their life.

Steve loved updating Darcy about the most mundane things happening in his life and Darcy did too. It was nice to have a normal conversation when he was not an Avenger. Occasionally Darcy would mention a matter or two and apply it to the Captain or Agent Carter, but other than that, it was mostly mindless chatter.

Darcy seemed weirdly perceptive about certain things, like Steve could feel that Darcy could tell that he left out Bucky of their discussions for a good reason, but she never mentioned it. Steve found it also very funny that Darcy seemed to be pretty unimpressed by the other Avengers, other than Natasha. Apart from the Captain, she exclusively called them by their first names, too, which Steve had found very weird initially but now found very endearing. He wondered if Darcy realised what she was doing.

~*~

So, if you were to meet him, what would you do?

Dunno? Faint like a 19th century heroine? :P

Well, that would be a first.

You think? We don’t know what happened on those USO tours…

Some things are better left to imagination.

I know, right! I bet the Captain does an awesome French braid. And make up. Victory rolls. What else could the ladies have taught him?

Except all the sex stuff, obviously.

Knitting

Remedies for period cramps

How to fix nylons.

Apple pie recipes :D

~*~

Darcy, I will be in NYC Thursday next week for a meeting. Do you want to meet up?

Steve had written and deleted that message about 17 times before he had finally hit send. He’d known that he would be in New York for quite some time now, but it had been difficult to decide whether he wanted to meet Darcy or not. On the one hand it was nice to continue being friends with her and keep up the pretense that everything was normal, on the other hand he felt that at this point she deserved to know.

Being friends with her and keeping such a secret from her made him feel dishonest. Not that he had ever lied to her. Steve had either deflected a lot of questions, had very consciously not said anything about certain things or had very carefully worded the truth.

Darcy’s answer came within seconds

I’d love to! BUT: I’m not there. I’m on a science conference in san diego.

Steve sighed. So the big reveal had to wait, then. Steve wasn’t sure if he was relieved or disappointed.

 

Just our luck.

~*~

“You’ve been mopey,” Jane announced, when they made it back to their hotel after a full day of giving lectures and Q&A session. “You’ve been mopey the whole day.”

“Yeah, I guess, I am.”

“Any particular reason?”

Darcy thought for a moment and then decided to tell Jane the truth. “Remember that conversation we had, a few weeks ago? About me meeting a guy?”

“Yeah. Sure.”

“So, I’ve met this guy online, some months back, over our common admiration for Peggy Carter and you know… we kind of hit it off? We’ve been texting, he is nice, very nice. He lives in DC.”

“And?” Jane prompted.

“He’s in New York this week. He asked me if we wanted to meet up.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” Darcy shrugged, “terrible timing.”

“Have you met him before?”

“No, would’ve been our first meeting.”

Jane grinned. “Oh my god, that’s so cute! So, tell me everything.”

Darcy tried to appear casual. “He lives in DC. He’s an artist, seriously, you should see his drawings of Peggy Carter and such. Wait, I have a whole slew of it on my phone.” Darcy took out her phone and began showing the pictures to Jane.

“What’s his name?” Jane asked.

“Steve – and yes, I know that’s a super weird coincidence.”

“Well, I wasn’t about to comment on it until you told me his last name,” Jane pointed out.

“I don’t know his last name.”

“You don’t?” Jane frowned at her. “Have you exchanged pictures?”

“Not of ourselves. It never came up, really.”

“How do you know he’s not a total creeper or something?”

“I’ve known him for almost a year now. I can tell.”

“What if he’s hideous? A hunchback? Has crooked teeth?”

Darcy shrugged. “I don’t care. He’s like… really dorky and funny and normal.”

“Geez, you’ve got it bad. No wonder you are sad you missed him. We’ll make it happen.”

~*~

“I’ve been invited to give a presentation at the Carnegie Institution for Science in two weeks,” Jane announced a few weeks later.

“And?”

“It’s in DC.”

“And?”

“Don’t you have a special someone in DC you want to meet? Except Captain America, that is.”

“Am I going with you?”

“Of course you are going with me! So text him already and tell him you want to meet him.”

~*~

My boss was invited to give a presentation in DC and i’m travelling with her. In two weeks. Do want to give our meet up a second try?

I’d love to! Can we decide on a date and time spontaneously, though? My schedule is kind of unpredictable at the moment.

Sure!

Sorry, I can’t make our meeting.

What do you mean you can’t make our meeting?

Steve?

Steve?

Steve?

If you don’t want to meet and keep the allure of internet anonymity, you just have to tell me. I’ll understand.

You don’t have to ignore me

I’m just going to the Smithsonian all by myself then

And have all the fun at the cap exhibition

On my own

It was fun.

Okay i admit, i think it would have been more fun with you around

Sorry, I was called out of the country last minute.

That’s a lame excuse

It’s true though. I am really sorry!

Yeah, right. Sorry, but I’ll keep sulking for a bit.

I’m really sorry.

<image.jpg>

OMG, is that a drawing of puppy labrathor??

Sure it is. I’m not above emotional blackmail. He’s saying “Please forgive me, Darcy” with his puppy dog eyes.

God, you know me too well

So am I forgiven?

Yeah

I guess I’m just disappointed. I was really looking forward to finally meet you

Yeah, me too

And what exactly do you do in your government job that has to spontaneously travel out of the country for a few days with no access to communication?

I could tell you but then I’d have to kill you

Uh, international man of mystery, are we?

My job is kind of a touchy subject

Ok, I’ll let it slide

But do you like what you do?

It keeps me occupied.

That’s a terrible TERRIBLE answer. Geez. If you don’t like it then quit

It’s not that easy

Oh yeah, are you in indentured servitude?

No, but I do have a very specific skillset

That’s not cryptic at all

Can we stop talking about my job, please? I’m sorry.

We’ll make it happen next time. Third time’s a charm, right?

~*~

Do you think Captain America has a girlfriend? Or a boyfriend? A secret spouse? A significant other?

Why are you asking this?

I was just wondering, you know. He seems so… alone? I know the tabloids love pairing him with every female in his vicinity (like, Natasha is supposedly carrying his love child every second week because they are both working in DC these days), but you know, I was wondering if he has somebody to love. Somebody after Peggy. He seems like the guy who wants a family and such… He deserves to be happy.

I don’t know, I feel pensive today.

~*~

Steve was having another sleepless night and was just considering getting up and going for another nightly run, when his phone rang. His first guess was that it would be SHIELD requiring to suit up post-haste, so his mouth fell open when he looked at his screen and saw the caller ID indicating that it was Darcy.

They had never spoken on the phone before. Not that Steve hadn’t been tempted sometimes, but then calling her felt weirdly personal and he didn’t really know what he should talk about to begin with. And talking could lead to some unexpected questions and he didn’t really want to lie to her.

He was curious why Darcy would be calling him now, at 1 in the morning, so he answered it. “Hello?”

“Steeeeeeeeeeeeeve.”

“Darcy?”

“Yep,” she popped the p, “that’s me.”

“Wow, I didn’t expect that.” Steve ran his hand through his hair nervously.

“I was emboldened by alcohol, Steve. I drank too much. Vodka. It’s entirely Jane’s fault.”

“It’s not!” he could hear another woman yell in the background.

“So now I’m super drunk and calling you.”

“Well, you sound surprisingly lucid,” Steve commented.

“Lucid,” Darcy repeated and started giggling hysterically.

“Or maybe not,” Steve added drily. “Why did you call me?” Steve asked, curious, once Darcy had managed to stop laughing.

“Because I wanted to hear your voice. Also, Jane claimed that you didn’t exist because she said the way I described you that you were too perfect.”

Steve chuckled. “Thanks.”

“I mean, she’s one to talk. Her boyfriend is-”

“Darcy!” Jane interrupted in the background.

“I know, Jane,” Darcy sounded irritated. “I’m not _that_ drunk. Okay, maybe I am. Her boyfriend is a god, Steve. I’m telling you, a god.”

“Wow, that’s awesome.”

“Not for me,” Darcy sighed dramatically. “It’s sickening, really. Sickeningly sweet. They are perfect for each other, man. He worships her.”

They were silent for a moment, because Steve didn’t know how to answer to that.

“Jane, can you turn down the TV, I can barely understand anything.”

“Sure!” Jane said.

“So you told your friend about us, huh?” Steve said.

“Just the one. I was mopey because we tend to miss each other. Like, miss meeting each other,” she clarified.

“We’ll make it happen at some point,” Steve promised.

“Yeah, we will… But hearing your voice is a nice start. I mostly called to hear your voice,” Darcy confessed, sounding wistful. “I really wanted to hear your voice.”

“I did, too.”

“It’s a nice voice. Really nice.” Darcy continued. “I like it. Well done, vocal cords.”

Steve chuckled again. “Thanks.”

“Now I just have to keep you talking. Anything I should know and you haven’t told me yet?”

“Um,” Steve stuttered, because that innocent question was laden with double meaning.

“Otherwise you’ll just have to impress me with the extensive World War II knowledge you always claim to have.”

“That I can do! Did you know that Queen Elizabeth II trained as a mechanic and driver with the ATS during the war?”

“Wow,” Darcy breathed, impressed. “Do you think Captain America met her?”

“No, I don’t think he has.”

“Do you think Peggy Carter has met her?”

“I don’t know…”

“Yeah, I think she has. I think Peggy and the Queen would’ve gotten along like a house on fire. They are badass bitches! Wait, what’s the age difference between the two?”

“Um.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Darcy continued, “they would’ve been totes besties.”

“If you say so.”

“I have a total worship thing for the Queen ever since I lived in London, okay. Don’t judge me.”

“I’m not judging.” Steve grinned. Darcy was a very charming drunk.

“Good. Anyway, I think the Queen and Peggy would totally go out together. And nobody would be the wiser. The Queen, the young princess, would’ve enjoyed the anonymity. A few nights here and there,” Darcy rambled on. “Going out for a night, among soldiers. She’d totally have a thing for Bucky Barnes.”

Steve snorted loudly.

“Don’t laugh at me, Steve! I’m telling you, it would’ve happened. Because obviously she wouldn’t hook up with the Captain, because he was with Peggy and you know, chicks before dicks. But Bucky… hooking up with Bucky, the womanizer, during one of their off days! Everybody would’ve done it. You’ve seen the pictures! Bucky was a total catch!”

“Don’t I know it,” Steve commented drily.

“Even next to that Brooklyn Adonis,” Darcy sighed dreamily. “But maybe Bucky would’ve botched it… he totally could’ve… offended the Brits in some way.”

“Well, actually,” Steve said, glad to maybe point the conversation into another direction. “American soldier were given a ‘How to deal with the British’ pamphlet in order to avoid charged situations with both their British Army counterparts and civilians.”

“Oh, that’s smart!” Darcy sounded delighted at that little tidbit of information. “So you really have that random ass World War II knowledge.”

“Yeah, I guess I do.”

“Anything else I should know in case I want to win the prize at Jeopardy or something?”

“The Russians had a bomb regiment consisting of only female aviators, which was nicknamed Nachthexen, Night Witches, by the Germans.”

“Uh, Nachthexen,” Darcy repeated that word and totally screwed up the pronunciation. “Talk dirty German to me!” She giggled.

“Sorry, my German is very rusty. But I can tell you that American radio DJs were prohibited from taking listener requests starting 1941. The government feared that enemy spies would embed secret messages.”

“Even before the attack on Pearl Harbor?”

“Even before the attack on Pearl Harbor,” Steve confirmed.

Again they were silent.

“Wow, Jane totally fell asleep next to me,” Darcy then remarked. “Maybe I should go, too.”

“Maybe you should. It’s not far, right?”

“No, we are at home. Jane and I, we live together.”

“I know, you told me. I was thinking that your bed is more comfortable than the couch.”

“Yeah.”

“And if you get up, you can also get some water,” Steve suggested. “It will make you feel better tomorrow.”

“Yes, _mom_ , I bet you have some awesome cures for a hangover?”

“Actually, I, um, I don’t. I don’t- don’t get drunk.”

“Steve, my man, you’re the most random person. I mean, you are funny and sweet and awesome at drawing and totally geek out over Peggy Carter and you have this random history knowledge probably from too many late night Wikipedia spirals, but then you are also like… a total fitness fanatic and you own a Harley and this super secret job you don’t talk about and now you also don’t drink. You are such a weird random nerd. I love it.”

“Um, thanks,” Steve was glad that Darcy couldn’t see him blush, “same to you. And thanks for sticking with me. Accepting me as I am.”

“You’re welcome. I’m just so glad that you didn’t turn out to be a fratboy fuckboy,” Darcy said earnestly.

“Do I want to know what that is?”

“Google. I’m now going to sleep, I’m already lying in bed. Goodbye Stevie-pie!” She giggled to herself. “Love ya!”

She had hung up before Steve could reply to that. Steve stared pensively at the phone in his hand for a moment. That had gone better than expected. It had been fun, but then things with Darcy were always fun.

But it had also reinforced his original thought that he should tell her about him soon. Darcy deserved to know. It was not that he was keeping a secret. But how did you tell your surprising internet crush that you were Captain America?

He was sick of pretending at this point and the rules of the “allure of internet anonymity” as she had once called it didn’t really apply to them any more. He knew her too long for that.

Now he just had to figure out a way to tell her.

~*~

OMG, did I DRUNK DIAL you last night?

Yes, you did.

OMG. I’m so SORRY

Nbd. I was awake anyway

Right. Nobody is awake at that hour on a Wednesday night. You don’t have to lie to make me feel better

What did I say?

You don’t remember?

Did I tell you that there was vodka involved?

You did. You were adorable. Very charming and adorable

UGH. So what did I say?

You were basically plotting fanfic where Peggy Carter met Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Elizabeth back then. And they were totes besties (I quote)

Also you suggested that Bucky might’ve had a fling with the Queen on his days off duty

Oh god

Then you wanted me to seduce you in “dirty German”

Oh god

And then I basically lulled you to sleep with my extensive history knowledge. Jane, too, in case she was listening in

But as I said, you were adorable

Kind of sad that you don’t remember bc you said that you wanted to hear my voice. And then you complimented my vocal cords

Oh god. Shoot me now

~*~

Steve, please tell me you are safe

Steve, come on, talk to me

Talk to me, Steve

There’s so much stuff happening in DC right now, please tell me you are not affected

I’m kind of hoping your continued silence is because you are out of the country and not affected by the stuff in DC

God, I’d sell my firstborn for a message from you

Steve, come on

I’m really worried here

I have like 1000 other things I’m worried about, too, but I’m here hoping that you are safe

Please, answer me

~*~

“You want me to what?” Tony asked, flabbergasted.

“You know, just find some information about him,” Darcy repeated. “I need to know if he’s still alive.”

“I’m still stuck on how you got into that situation to begin with.” Tony frowned at her. “This is all about a guy, Steve, an artist you met on the internet because of your mutual love for all things Agent Carter?”

“Yes,” Darcy said impatiently, “but he’s my friend.”

“A friend you basically know nothing about. I mean, that description is super random. Even Captain America himself, who is also called Steve, fits that profile.”

“I also have his tumblr and his email address and his phone number, so you should be able to dig up some data,” Darcy looked at Tony expectantly.

“Okay,” Bruce chimed in, “I need to be the responsible adult here. Darcy, do you really want to invade his privacy like this? There is chaos in DC right now. It makes sense that he’s hiding under his desk or something.”

“It’s been two days. He hasn’t texted in two days.”

“Communication was down for a while after Nat had leaked everything,” Tony explained.

“And there’s still a lot of paranoia and everything,” Bruce said calmly. “Give him time. You don’t have any reason to think that he’s working for SHIELD, right? So he probably wasn’t in the Triskelion, or anywhere near it.”

“But what if he was in downtown DC the day before?” Darcy countered. “There was collateral damage? When an unknown assailant shot down half of the city?”

“Their names were released already,” Tony said. “Didn’t you check up on that?”

Darcy sat down heavily in one of the office chairs and sighed.

“Are you really that worried?” Tony asked softly.

“Kind of, but also…” Darcy trailed off.

“You are afraid he might’ve been a Hydra plant?” Bruce asked knowingly.

“Yes, but kind of no? I don’t think he is. I don’t want him to be. But then I am also kind of the weakest link around here and you know… Honeypot missions and long cons and everything, they are Hydra’s MO, now that we know what they are doing.”

“I kind of understand the dilemma. If you want me to get Jarvis on the job, I can do it,” Tony offered. “You just have to consider what happens if it’s not the worst case scenario.”

“Yup,” Bruce agreed. “Then you broke his trust and have to explain everything.”

“Well, I had to come clean about my identity at some point anyway?” Darcy said with a grimace. “Anyway, thanks for the pep talk, guys. I’ll give it some thought.”

~*~

“Who is Darcy?” Sam asked, while Steve was devouring his jello (and the rest of the hospital food).

“What?” Steve squeaked, a little.

“Because you have approximately 67, increasingly frantic messages from her asking if you are okay.”

“Shit.”

“At some point she threatened that she has powerful friends that could hunt you down. And then she tried calling you. Several times. I finally showed mercy and answered.”

“You talked to her?” Steve stared at him, mouth open.

“Yup,” Sam nodded.

“Oh no,” Steve groaned.

“I told her that you were in the hospital. She was worried about you. Don’t worry, I was charming.”

“Oh no,” Steve repeated.

“She was charming, too.”

Steve dragged a hand across his face. This was just his luck that Darcy would find out by accident. “I need to know what exactly you told her,” he then demanded.

“Well,” Sam shrugged, “just what I just told you. That you were in the hospital but that you were okay and that she needn’t worry. That was basically the gist of it.”

“No, I need to know _exactly_ what you told her.”

Sam frowned at him. “Why?”

“Because she doesn’t know who I am,” Steve mumbled.

“What do you mean?”

“She knows I’m Steve from DC and that I have a government job and that I love drawing and own a Harley et cetera. Nothing more.”

Now it was Sam’s turn to stare at him mouth open. “She doesn’t know you’re Captain America?” he then said, flabbergasted.

Steve shook his head no.

“But… how?”

“We met online and it just… never came up.”

“But…” Sam was speechless for a moment until he managed to gather his wits. “Okay, apart from the obvious questions on why you never exchanged full names and or pictures: I gather that she’s important to you, so why didn’t you tell her?”

“How to tell your internet friend about your superhero identity wasn’t really covered by SHIELD’s ‘Welcome to the 21st century’ briefing,” Steve said acerbically.

“Seriously, Steve.”

“How was I supposed to tell her?” Steve said exasperatedly. “We’ve never met; I was kind of waiting for that, for the right moment. Otherwise my options were… Write her an email like: ‘Oh, hey, it’s me, by the way it never came up, but I’m Captain America. Here’s a picture of my face to let you know that it’s really me. I lied by omission to you all this time.’”

Sam regarded him for a moment. “So you only lied by omission?”

“I just didn’t tell her certain things. But you know, in essentials she knows me… she just doesn’t know that one big thing.”

“Steve, my man,” Sam shook his head, “I don’t know what to say to that. But back to your original question: I didn’t inadvertently reveal your big secret. You have to figure this out on your own.”

“Yeah, I will.”

They were silent for a moment. “So, what exactly do you know about her?”

“Basically everything except her full name. She lives in New York, she moved there from London a few months ago. She’s kind and funny and smart and always manages to cheer me up. She is super passionate about Peggy Carter, that’s how we met, originally. She comes from a little town in Maine, has one brother. She loves singing even though she’s totally tone deaf. Oh, and apparently one of her friends works for Stark Industries and has met Captain America once.”

“And you haven’t covertly used SHIELD’s infrastructure to check her out?” Sam wanted to know.

“No!” Steve said forcefully. “That would make me as bad as Hydra.”

“Are you sure _she’s_ not Hydra?”

Steve glared at Sam, who held up his hands in defense. “Hey, I’m just saying. This time three days ago you had no idea that Hydra still existed and now they are basically everywhere.”

Steve sighed. “You’re right,” he then admitted. “She could be a Hydra plant. The same way my neighbour turned out to be a protective SHIELD detail. It would fit. Maybe Darcy isn’t even real.”

“That would be depressing but not surprising. So, what are you going to do about it?”

Steve thought for a few moments. “I mean, if she’s really a Hydra creation she wouldn’t have had any reason to still contact me after all that’s happened in DC, right? There’s no further reason to string me along now that their secret it out in the open?”

“Man, I don’t know.”

“I’m just going to write to her and tell her that I’ll be MIA for a while. I will be anyway because I have to search Bucky. That’ll give her a way out. If she doesn’t answer any longer I can always pretend it was due to external circumstances and not because some Hydra officer made sure to string me along.”

Sam regarded him curiously for a moment. “You are halfway in love with her already, aren’t you?”

~*~

 

From: kilroywashere1918@gmail.com

To: thedissilent@gmail.com

Subject: Truth to be told – or not

Darcy,

this will come as a shock to you, but I wanted to explain myself and tell you that I will be MIA for quite some time: I was affected by that whole SHIELD upheaval. I am one of the good guys. (I know, that’s what the bad guys always say, too, but I hope that by know you know me well enough to trust me on this.) I would never be Hydra. Never.

I’ll be out of the country for a while (I know that it’s super shady. But I have stuff to do, I’m not fleeing the country!) and I’ll miss our conversation – if you want to stay in contact with me, that is. I know that I’m being cryptic but I cannot avoid it. And I’ll understand if you want to cut ties with me.

I never meant to keep such a big secret from you, but it just happened and trust me when I say that I really cannot tell you more about this. Not at this time at least.

I hope you will still be there when I return.

Your friend,

Steve

 

~*~

Darcy read Steve’s email for the umpteenth time. God, he was so cryptic, but he also sounded so sincere. What was she supposed to do now?

So he wasn’t as normal as she’d thought. Just her luck. A random dude she’d found on tumblr was probably a SHIELD agent, or at least SHIELD affiliated. For all she knew he could be a resurrected Phil Coulson, who was now 20 years younger and went by Steve Something. He had been a Cap fanboy, right?

She stared back at the email. She still had the option to have Tony run his details. It would be easy; within minutes she would know if he was really one of the good guys or not. She would know everything about him, every body he had ever buried, every secret he didn’t even remember he had tried to hide.

But that felt so wrong somehow. She trusted him, strangely enough. And he didn’t know a big part of her story either. She had yet to tell him that she was kind of besties with Thor and worked with the Avengers every day. And she really wanted to tell him that.

So they had both thought the other to be normal and as it turned out they both weren’t. It was just fair to find out naturally. Maybe she should take a chance on him.

~*~

 

From: thedissilent@gmail.com

To: kilroywashere1918@gmail.com

Subject: Re: Truth to be told – or not

Steve,

at some point we have to meet in person and tell each other our real names. And all the stuff we have never told each other. Because: I’m in that SHIELD data dump, too, and I’m one of the good guys. So, that’s an incentive for you to return quickly.

I’ll be waiting.

Darcy

~*~

“So, Darcy,” Natasha announced a few weeks later during their girls’ night. “You can finally meet your last Avenger, who is coincidentally the first Avenger. Captain America will be returning stateside and set up shop in New York, in the tower as well.”

“Oh! Nice!” Jane clapped her hands excitedly. “Darcy totally has a thing for him.” Jane grinned mischievously.

“Jane!” Darcy hissed. “I do not have a thing for him,” she then protested. “I’m just an… admirer of his work, that’s all. I’m interested in him as a historic subject. And I really want to interview him about Peggy Carter. But I would never do that because it’s a touchy subject and contrary to some people here,” Darcy glared at Jane, “I am actually a considerate person with social skills.”

“Oh, Steve wouldn’t mind,” Nat said with a throwaway gesture. “I’ll introduce you. He’s great. You’ll like him.”

Darcy squinted at her.

“He’s single, too.”

“Oh my god,” Darcy dragged her hand across her face, “I’ll just pretend you just didn’t say that?”

“Why?”

“Because I’m really not interested. And because he’s Captain America. And I’m… me.”

“He’s really just a regular guy,” Natasha said with a shrug. “You would really get along with him great. Seriously, he’s a total dork. You’ll love it.”

“I don’t think this is going to work, Nat,” Jane chimed in. “No matter how much you extol his virtues. Darcy is kind of hung up on that guy she met on the internet. And has never met in real life.”

“Right, that’s it,” Darcy declared and stood up. “Jane, you are no longer my best friend.”

“Aw, Darcy, I’m just trying to help you.”

“You are making things worse. I can’t believe I’m talking with you and the legendary Black Widow about my love life of all things.”

“He’s been incommunicado these past weeks because he’s been busy,” Jane whispered very loudly. “Darcy has been kind of mopey. Their internet relationship is very serious.”

Natasha hummed pensively for a moment. “I still think that she should meet Steve Rogers,” she then announced, “because they would totally be perfect for each other.”

~*~

I’m back stateside and have re-activated my number. Thanks for sticking with me, Darcy.

Oh, thank god you are back

Wow, that’s a warm welcome

An e-mail here and there simply doesn’t cut it, okay? There’s so much that’s going in on my life right now. I can’t wait to tell you everything

Like?

A friend of mine/co-worker is trying to set me up

Hahahahahaha, do you see the irony in that statement?

Yeah, I do, that’s why I’m telling you. It’s kind of… unsettling? I mean, she thinks she has this guy for me and I don’t want it?

Why?

He’s like in a different stratosphere from me. And I like fawning from afar. I’d never even entertain the idea. At all.

Nobody is in a different stratosphere. You are awesome, Darcy. If he’s arrogant, then he doesn’t deserve you

It’s not that. It’s complicated

But I doubt he even knows that I exist. And I really don’t want him to know I exist

Also: I was kind of hoping you’d turn up on a white steed and we’d ride into the sunset together

Yeah, I wish that too

So has your co-worker stopped meddling with your love life?

Wait, you basically hinted that you were working for SHIELD. Was there a SHIELD dating pool?

It’s even more frightening than that

Uhhhhh, I’m intrigued! Sounds like quite the story

You wouldn’t believe it. I’ll tell you when I meet you

~*~

“So,” Nat plopped down on his couch while Steve was packing up the things in his old apartment that he wanted to ship from DC to New York, “now that you are moving to New York, to the tower, permanently. Doc Foster’s assistant I mentioned? She’s still working down in the labs and I still think you’d be perfect for each other.”

Steve sighed. “I’m not interested.”

“She is really great. Feisty, intelligent, assertive,” Natasha continued, unperturbed.

“Still not interested.”

“She kind of has a history crush on Captain America, but that’s not really an obstacle.”

Steve glared at her, but Natasha didn’t care at all.

“She also thinks that you, Captain America, would never be interested in a normal girl like her and she maybe has a weird random thing with another guy which I’m still trying to figure out, but I’ve all but designed your wedding invitations.”

Steve shook his head, but didn’t answer. He knew that Natasha meant well and that setting people up was some weird show of affection from her side, so she must really like that lab person, but Steve really wasn’t interested and it wasn’t for the reasons Natasha suspected.

He was moving to New York to be with his team mates but then: Darcy was in New York. He could finally meet her. And tell her everything. And hope that she would then still be friends with him. Or maybe even more.

~*~

Do you give good hugs?

I’d think so, yes.

I could use a hug.

What happened?

Oh, it’s just one of these days. Things at work actually exploded (don’t worry, I work in a lab, it’s fine, things tend to explode and we have security measures in place so I’m more shaken than anything) and my colleagues are still too invested in my love life and I kind of yelled at Jane and I don’t know. I want a hug. And this one guy friend I have, who gives great hugs, is not around. (also, he’s Jane’s boyfriend and having him comfort me would feel dishonest.)

Jane’s boyfriend, the god.

Yes

So, I’m kind of bumped you are not around

Well, I’m in New York actually

AND YOU DIDN’T TELL ME?

It’s not really a permanent thing yet

STILL

I arrived four hours ago

STILL

You arrive in MY city and don’t have the good sense to tell me.

 

At that moment Steve’s phone rang, with the caller ID indicating that it was Darcy.

“Okay,” Darcy started without preamble. “Where exactly in NYC are you? I’m in Manhattan, Midtown.”

So the time for truth had finally come, Steve thought, before he answered: “Me too.”

“Do you know Uncle Paul’s Pizza, on Vanderbilt, close to Stark tower? It’s open 24 hours, so it’s still open at 11 at night…”

“Sure do.”

“Meet me there in 30 minutes. I’ll be wearing a blue shirt picturing Thor Kitty.”

“Thor Kitty?” Steve teased.

“Don’t judge me, okay. I could wear the LabraThor shirt, too. And you have the permission to stare at my chest.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll meet you there?” Darcy asked.

“30 minutes,” Steve confirmed.

“I’m really excited about this.”

“Me too.”

“I’m going to hang up now. I’ll see you soon.”

“30 minutes,” Steve repeated.

Darcy hung up and and suddenly Steve was nervous. He ran his hand through his hair. So, this was the moment then. He didn’t really need 30 minutes to make it to the place down the block. He paced in front of the couch in his apartment in the tower for a few minutes. He wasn’t really sure what he was supposed to say. They should’ve chosen a less public space. This could become a train wreck. But then, he couldn’t change it anyway – except not show up, which he didn’t plan to do.

He hoped that Darcy would still talk to him afterwards.

~*~

Promise me you will not yell at me?

Why would i yell at you?

Darcy stared at her phone, at the last message Steve had written to her and her response, but he hadn’t answered after that.

Darcy fiddled nervously with the ends of her scarf, while she waited for the elevator to arrive. This was the moment. She was finally going to meet Steve. God, she hoped it would be okay. Maybe even better than okay. Maybe she shouldn’t have suggested such a public space, they still had to talk about some secrets, right?

And what had she been thinking? Running out of the tower in the middle of the night to meet a guy she’d never seen, whose full name she didn’t even know and who was SHIELD affiliated and could be Hydra.

Maybe it all way an elaborate trick. She should text Jane just in case.

She got onto the elevator, which then stopped on the next floor down below, another one of the Avenger’s residential floors. She hoped that Natasha or Clint wouldn’t get in. They would see trough her in seconds and tease her mercilessly and she was nervous enough as it was.

The doors opened and Captain America appeared in front of her. Steve Rogers, Darcy corrected herself. Just her luck. She might actually have preferred Clint or Natasha or maybe both. The moment she was about to meet her internet crush, she met her history idol. As if she wasn’t nervous enough already.

He stepped into the elevator and then stopped short, when his eyes fell onto her shirt. He stared at it entirely too long and Darcy self-consciously crossed her arms in front of her chest, but he continued staring. Darcy frowned at him, but he didn’t notice. She hadn’t really expected that Captain America of all people would be a breast guy who didn’t realise that she had eyes as well. She harrumphed in disapproval, making him look up.

She stared at him, one eyebrow raised in question, but he just looked at her, entirely flabbergasted.

“Darcy?” he just said. His voice sounded strangely familiar.

Darcy’s mouth fell open. “How do you know that?”

“I’m Steve.”

“Yes, I know that,” Darcy said impatiently. “Every school child in America knows that.”

“No, I’m artist Steven Rogers, killroywashere1918.”

“WHAT?”

~*~

Steve?

Yes, Darcy?

Come back to bed

You know that I’m barely 20 feet away from you

Making breakfast

We can now talk face to face

You could’ve yelled

Now where’s the fun in that?

Come back to bed

Here’s an incentive

<image.jpg>

I’m on my way

**Author's Note:**

> [historicalagentcarter](http://historicalagentcarter.tumblr.com/) is a real life tumblr, as is [straightwhiteboystexting](http://straightwhiteboystexting.tumblr.com/). The random World War II facts are true as well. Here is the [‘How to deal with the British’ pamphlet](http://www.hardscrabblefarm.com/ww2/britain.htm)
> 
> Darcy’s half-baked RPF with Queen Elizabeth II was inspired by [this](http://grownupgeekgirl.tumblr.com/post/129124959921/medieisme-stephrc79-falcon-fox-and-coyote)
> 
> This is [Thor Kitty](http://amerna.tumblr.com/post/130065802874/dailycatdrawings-411-thor-cat-while-im-on)
> 
> And Steve’s email, killroywashere1918, was borrowed with permission from [Merideath’ dragon verse](https://archiveofourown.org/series/280770)


End file.
